Topic: Dialing the right speed for jumps Posted: Apr/04/2010 at 9:19pm

Ever since I overshoot my landing and bang my head (my scalp was red, but luckily no concussion yay for helmet) about 2-3 months ago, this has been my biggest mental block.

I'm totally scared about overshooting my jumps that I speed check too much going into it that I go too slow half of the time. This is okay for smaller jumps but this is blocking my progression and I need to get over it. I tried one of the bigger jump last weekend and sure enough I went too slow and I landed on the flat right before the slope where I'm suppose to land on. Luckily I anticipated it on the air so I was ready when I landed and slammed my body But my knee is very sore after that

How do you judge the distance required for the jumps? I know a lot of people are suggesting for me to wait and watch other rider's speed on the same jump. I'm bad at visualizing though and even though I saw other people ate it on the same big jump last weekend and I see others who cleared it, I still went too slow.

What size jumps are you hitting?
anyways like gsrrr said if you don't know what speed to take, just look at others, where they start from and how many speed check they do and see where they land. Also if you hit the jumps and you know you coming short and by how much you should get an idea how much more speed you need? like if you come up short by 3-4feet when you took a straight line, than double that feet and take off from about 7 feet above from your previous point.

I'm not sure in term of feet, I'm really bad at estimating which is why I can't figure out the speed just by looking at people.

Based on their sizes on the mountain though I just divide the jumps into small, medium and big (the one with flags on both edge of the lip). I don't have problem clearing the small one, No problem on medium half of the time) and the one I tried and short land it last weekend was the big one.

I will just stay off the big one right now and I'll try to land the medium one most of the time before trying the big one again

My first time in the park, I followed a friend as he hit a jump. I just rode to the side of the jump to better gauge the speed. We're about the same weight, so after a couple of passes, I had my speed perfect and made that first jumps so much better. Another thing was to push your back foot off the jump as the crest of the jump is right on your back foot/behind your foot. This will ollie you up into a better stance, so even if you do overshoot, you'll be balanced and have a good chance at landing it smoothly.

If you ride at Mt High i'll be able to give you some pointers(i'm there sat/sun)

As you already know, the answer is to watch people. It sounds like you don't know what to look for though. You don't just watch them and say oh he cleared it and I THINK he was going this fast. Its more like you watch where they take off from and how many speed checks they do.On a bigger jump there will usually be some sort of starting point. Busy days there'll be a line. Sit there and watch a few people. If you see 3-4 short it, wait for the guy that clears it. See how many speed checks they do(key point). Obviously some people will brake harder than others but at least this way you get some sort of idea. For me I ride a shorter board so sometimes i'll do one less check than others.

After awhile you'll kind of know how much speed you need. But yeah just start out small and get comfortable going faster. I remember the days when I couldn't clear the bigger jumps. In my head I knew I needed to go faster but I just wasn't used to going that fast on a jump.

Overshooting jumps sucks, I've had my fair share of bruised tail bones. Like you said, it's a mental block. If you've been riding this park for a while you should have some idea of how fast you should be going, the issue is probably that you're doubting yourself. I recommend a couple beers, just enough to take the edge off. That's how I learned one and a halfs and doubles on the diving board this summer.

If you ride at Mt High i'll be able to give you some pointers(i'm there sat/sun)

As you already know, the answer is to watch people. It sounds like you don't know what to look for though. You don't just watch them and say oh he cleared it and I THINK he was going this fast. Its more like you watch where they take off from and how many speed checks they do.On a bigger jump there will usually be some sort of starting point. Busy days there'll be a line. Sit there and watch a few people. If you see 3-4 short it, wait for the guy that clears it. See how many speed checks they do(key point). Obviously some people will brake harder than others but at least this way you get some sort of idea. For me I ride a shorter board so sometimes i'll do one less check than others.

After awhile you'll kind of know how much speed you need. But yeah just start out small and get comfortable going faster. I remember the days when I couldn't clear the bigger jumps. In my head I knew I needed to go faster but I just wasn't used to going that fast on a jump.

Thanks for the tips that's what I'll probably do next time, watch and take 1 less speed check. I wouldn't be able to ride this weekend, catching cold sucks

If you ride at Mt High i'll be able to give you some pointers(i'm there sat/sun)As you already know, the answer is to watch people. It sounds like you don't know what to look for though. You don't just watch them and say oh he cleared it and I THINK he was going this fast. Its more like you watch where they take off from and how many speed checks they do.On a bigger jump there will usually be some sort of starting point. Busy days there'll be a line. Sit there and watch a few people. If you see 3-4 short it, wait for the guy that clears it. See how many speed checks they do(key point). Obviously some people will brake harder than others but at least this way you get some sort of idea. For me I ride a shorter board so sometimes i'll do one less check than others.After awhile you'll kind of know how much speed you need. But yeah just start out small and get comfortable going faster. I remember the days when I couldn't clear the bigger jumps. In my head I knew I needed to go faster but I just wasn't used to going that fast on a jump.

Thanks for the tips that's what I'll probably do next time, watch and take 1 less speed check. I wouldn't be able to ride this weekend, catching cold sucks And as far as overshooting, that's even worst than undershooting IMO.

Your right about undershoooting i undershot a 30 foot kicker by about 5 feet and broke my wrist back in january

Watch other riders your size and see how many times they speed check (if they speed check), ride next to the jump line while people are dropping in and try to pace them. Worse comes to worse, drop in faster than you think you need to. I'd rather land long than hit a knuckle.

try hitting it with just some straight air's maybe an indy so you have full control and can see your landing, after you dail your speed in for those move to your spins. You should be either the same speed or a tiny bit faster for spins.

It depends on the park- most are pretty well designed, so that the run in corresponds to the kicker, if this is not the case, start slow and build up- you'll get a feel for how fast you went last time and thus know you have to go a bit faster.

You aren't going to feel 100% comfortable to start with- pushing boundaries takes a while, but stick at it and you'll be steezy in no time.

Also remember that different conditions on different days are going to affect the speed, regardless of run in distance.

i agree with the trial and error. even if you watch other people and and try to mimic them, your not gonna get it perfect. use that to try and get an idea, and if not, just try it out and adjust accordingly.

just keep practising on the medium ones, build your confidence back up and only hit the big ones when you know your comfortable enough to. OR go over the big jumps with a pal, and stay at the same speed as him.

It's all been said but here it is one more time...start small and when you get those dialed in you know you'll need more speed for the next size up...when those are perfect hit something bigger and take on more speed. You'll know when you've got it right but it's not going to happen on your first try. Keep practicing!

Youre right its a mental thing. You need to go out and just start hitting jumps and get your confidence back. If you come up short you do it again with more speed. Ive gone through the same thing and its just a matter of doing it enough and being confident in your riding level.

ussually judging speed aint really to big of a deal to me but end of last season i was riding at sunshine and i overshot the landing by like 20 ft --no joke-- landed strait on my previosly injured back it was terrible, all i remember is flying through the air way higher than ive ever flow and honestly thinking "OH crap I'M ABOUT TO DIE" luckily i didnt

I failed my first big jump last wkend. Did the medium sized jumps ok so i thought Id try one of the bigger ones there..

Caught the biggest air ive ever done before and I went up and froze mid air instead of correcting my stance and landed badly (board+ butt broke the fall) luckily nothing major... turned me off jumps the whole day

This is a good thread as I myself tend to go slower into and jump and hope my ollie will take me over the flat part (knucle).

One thing though the guys that land it clearly go damn fast... maybe im getting too over my head in terms of skill.

If you ride at Mt High i'll be able to give you some pointers(i'm there sat/sun)

As you already know, the answer is to watch people. It sounds like you don't know what to look for though. You don't just watch them and say oh he cleared it and I THINK he was going this fast. Its more like you watch where they take off from and how many speed checks they do.On a bigger jump there will usually be some sort of starting point. Busy days there'll be a line. Sit there and watch a few people. If you see 3-4 short it, wait for the guy that clears it. See how many speed checks they do(key point). Obviously some people will brake harder than others but at least this way you get some sort of idea. For me I ride a shorter board so sometimes i'll do one less check than others.

After awhile you'll kind of know how much speed you need. But yeah just start out small and get comfortable going faster. I remember the days when I couldn't clear the bigger jumps. In my head I knew I needed to go faster but I just wasn't used to going that fast on a jump.

Are you going to be riding mt high this coming season. Ill have to kick it with you. Help me out a bit that would be awesome!

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